The invention relates to a machine for the bending of elongate material, more particularly tubular members such as brake lines, fuel lines and the like, with a central clamping device for the elongate material and with a bending head on either side of the clamping device that can be moved longitudinally along the axis of the unbent elongate material (elongate-material axis). Each bending head has a bending die designed, for example, as a bending roll and a counterpressure die that can be swivelled in a common bending plane around the axis of the respective bending die (bending-die axis) and, for example, designed as a counterpressure roll.
Machines of this type, e.g., for the bending of wheelbarrow frames or for other tubular structures with mirror symmetry, are known. In this case, the particular elongate material is clamped centrally in a clamping device. On either side of the central clamping device a bending head can be adjusted axially and in mirror symmetry to the central plane of the machine by means of a spindle on guide rods, so that one after the other equal bends can be made on the elongate material from the outward ends thereof to the center thereof. The bending plane of the two bending heads is vertical. In order to be able to produce bends that lie in different planes of the elongate material, the latter can be rotated about its longitudinal axis by means of a central pivot bearing in the clamping device before starting the next bend. The bends formed simultaneously left and right must, in turn, lie in a common bending plane. If bends are to be provided left and right of the clamping device that do not lie in a common bending plane, this can be done only by bending the single bends on either side of the central clamping device consecutively instead of simultaneously.
In fuel lines or the like, tubular material is employed wherein the ratio of length to diameter is considerable and which thus is difficult to handle. A feature common to bent components is that they often have a relatively long straight central section with adjoining end sections on either side that are bent in completely different ways. The single bends may be different in length, bending angle and bending plane, in that order. Therefore, the above described bending machine of known construction is unsuitable for the bending of such brake lines, fuel lines and the like. Manual bending on special single-purpose devices which is still applicable to brake lines, fuel lines and the like is possible, but also is costly and time consuming.